International News
Air Canada Flight Attendants Vow To Continue Strike, Hold Talks
Striking Air Canada flight attendants vowed Monday to defy another back-to-work order from the country’s labour tribunal, but resumed talks seeking to end a walkout that has cancelled travel for half a million people worldwide.
Roughly 10,000 flight attendants walked off the job after midnight Saturday, insisting the airline had failed to address their demands for higher wages and compensation for unpaid ground work, including during boarding.
Canada’s national carrier, which flies directly to 180 cities domestically and abroad, said the strike had forced cancellations impacting 500,000 people.
Over the weekend, Federal Labour Minister Patty Hajdu invoked a legal provision to halt the strike and force both sides into binding arbitration.
Following Hajdu’s intervention, the Canada Industrial Relations Board (CIRB), a regulatory tribunal, ordered the flight attendants back to work Sunday.
The flight attendants’ union said it would defy the order, forcing Air Canada to walk back plans to partially restore service.
CIRB regulators upped the pressure Monday.
It ordered the union “to resume the performance of their duties immediately and to refrain from engaging in unlawful strike activities,” Air Canada said in a statement.
The tribunal gave the Canadian Union of Public Employees until 12:00 pm (1600 GMT) to communicate to members that they “are required to resume the performance of their duties,” the carrier added.
Speaking after that deadline, CUPE president Mark Hancock told reporters the solution “has to be found at a bargaining table,” and that the union will not respect the tribunal’s ruling.
“None of us want to be in defiance of the law,” he said, but stressed the union would not waver in advocating for people asked to work hours on the ground during flight delays without “getting paid a dime.”
If Air Canada “thinks that planes will be flying this afternoon, they’re sorely mistaken,” Hancock said.
The union said later Monday that it had resumed talks with the airline as part of “continued attempts to reach a fair deal.”
The evening meetings were taking place in Toronto with the assistance of a mediator, William Kaplan, CUPE’s Air Canada component said in a statement on Facebook.
But it added that “at this time, the strike is still on, and the talks have just commenced.”
– Carney ‘disappointed’ –
Rafael Gomez, an industrial relations expert at the University of Toronto, told AFP the union may be on solid legal footing.
The provision “is written in such a way that it’s really for a situation where strikes have gone on a long time and there’s no way forward,” he said, suggesting that standard could not credibly apply to a strike that is just a few days old.
Prime Minister Mark Carney told reporters Monday it was “disappointing” that eight months of negotiations between the carrier and union did not produce an agreement.
“We recognise very much the critical role that flight attendants play in keeping Canadians and their families safe as they travel,” he said.
“It is important that they’re compensated equitably.”
But, he added, Canada faced a situation where hundreds of thousands of citizens and visitors were facing travel uncertainty.
On Thursday, Air Canada detailed the terms offered to cabin crew, indicating a senior flight attendant would, on average, make CAN$87,000 ($65,000) by 2027.
CUPE has described Air Canada’s offers as “below inflation (and) below market value.”
In a statement issued before the strike began, the Business Council of Canada warned an Air Canada work stoppage would exacerbate the economic pinch already being felt from US President Donald Trump’s tariffs.
AFP
Jeremy Doku insisted Manchester “will keep on fighting” in the Premier League title race despite their “painful” draw with Everton on Monday.
City drew 3-3 with the Toffees at Hill Dickinson Stadium, with Doku scoring a 97th-minute equaliser, having also scored the opening goal.
Doku’s equaliser (96:49) is City’s third-latest goal on record (since 2006-07) in a Premier League game after John Stones’ strike against Arsenal in September 2024 (97:14) and Gabriel Jesus’ goal against Everton in February 2019 (96:52).
Doku has had a hand in six goals across his last five games for City in all competitions (four goals, two assists), as many as in his previous 22 games combined (one goal, five assists).
The Belgian also created the most chances in the match against Everton (four), completed the most dribbles (5/7) and won the most duels (14/19).
City avoided defeat in a Premier League game despite trailing by 2+ goals as late as the 82nd minute for the first time since March 2012 against Sunderland (3-3).
They went on to win the league title in 2011-12, and Doku believes City can still beat Arsenal to the trophy this season.
“First half, we played well and created a lot of chances. We know if we don’t score those chances, it is going to get difficult at the end,” said Doku.
“Obviously, they are at their own stadium, they create chances, and they are dangerous, and they scored two goals, but I think we gave them the game.
“Good that we came back because one point is not bad in games like this.
“We will see. It feels painful now. There is still a lot of games to go. We lost two points, but we know that one point can be important at the end.
“We will keep on fighting. We owe it to ourselves and to our fans.”
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Nigerians interested in repatriation from South Africa will be responsible for the cost of their return trip to Nigeria.
The ministry’s spokesperson, Kimiebi Ebienfa, stated this during a press briefing on Monday in Abuja.
The briefing came shortly after a closed-door meeting between the Ministry’s Permanent Secretary, Dunoma Ahmed, and the South African Acting High Commissioner, Lesoli Machele.
Mr Ebienfa said the process will be self-funded and not state-funded, as it is a voluntary decision that the Nigerian government will only facilitate and coordinate.
In the recent past, such reparations have been sponsored by Nigerian airline owners, particularly Allen Onyema, the CEO of Air Peace.
The Nigerian government, on Sunday, indicated its readiness to repatriate its citizens from South Africa due to xenophobic violence.
The effort primarily targets Nigerians who feel threatened by the xenophobic violence and tension in parts of South Africa, as the protests against black immigrants in the country continue. Two Nigerians were killed last month.
Since the announcement, about 130 Nigerians in South Africa have expressed a willingness to return home voluntarily.
Mr Ebienfa stated that the return of the Nigerians depends on their financial capacity, as they would be expected to fund their trip back home individually.
He said, “Those willing to leave are expected to approach the high commission and, given that their decision is voluntary, have the resources to fund their return to Nigeria.”
The government will not “provide an aircraft from Nigeria to convey them.”
He also noted that the speed of the repatriation process will be determined by the availability of funds.
“Yes, 130 as of this morning have registered, but actualisation would be required to have their flight ticket to move back to Nigeria.”
Mr Ebienfa also explained that Nigerians who have so far expressed interest are motivated either by concerns about threats to their lives or by fear of arrest by South African law enforcement agencies.
“There are two groups of Nigerians who want to come back. One group feels the country is not safe for them and wants to come. They have all their papers intact.
“Then there is also the second group that has travel document violations or resident permit violations. And instead of running away from law enforcement, they are appealing that the government facilitate their movement back to Nigeria,” he explained.
However, he noted that the process is still being worked out and that the government would step in to provide aircraft or other needed assistance if tensions rise and the situation becomes more volatile.
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